Branch circuit monitors are installed within a power distribution panel to measure the power consumed by the branch loads that are connected to the multiple circuit breakers within the distribution panel. For example, in a panel having 24 circuit breakers, 24 current transformers (CTs), one of each branch, are required to measure the branch-level current. For each CT, multiple wires must be connected within the panel to the branch loads and to monitoring circuitry that monitors the current levels in each circuit breaker. Typically, ribbon cables are used to carry these wires, and multiple ribbon cables must be connected properly within the panel, making installation a time-consuming and error-prone process. Moreover, the accuracy of the current readings from the CTs is diminished because the wires connecting the CT to the monitoring circuitry are susceptible to noise.
What is needed, therefore, is a virtual branch load management system that can estimate and record branch level current data without requiring installation of bulky and noise-susceptible metering equipment at the branch level. Aspects of the present invention address these and other needs.